A Mother's Instinct
by Son of the Amazons
Summary: What if, at the announcement of Mufasa and Simba's passing, Sarabi, Sarafina and Nala went to pay their respects to the two royals? What if they discovered Simba's body was not by his father's side? Will they go to look for Simba? How will things fair? Let's find out. Constructive criticism is alright. No comments that state it has to follow all the movie. This is my story.
1. Chapter 1

**A Mother's Instinct**

**Chapter 1**

It had only been a couple of hours since Sarabi, all the cubs of the pride and her pride sisters heard the news. Mufasa and Simba were gone, and with no heir to Mufasa's rule, Scar claimed his kingship. None of the cubs in the pride could challenge Scar's claim. They were not Mufasa's sons or daughters, so they could not take the mantle of King. Sarabi wasn't very keen on Scar becoming King, but since both blood relations to Scar were with the Great Kings, she could not claim her title as Queen to be held. If Simba were alive, she would rule in Mufasa's stead til Simba was ready to take the Mantle. But Simba was no longer, so she had no way of keeping her Queen title. Nor any means to keep the hyenas away, since Scar allowed them safe passage.

She had requested to be able to see her husband and son's final resting places, which Scar permitted, seeing no harm in allowing her that right. Sarafina, along with Nala wished to accompany her. Sarafina had always seen Mufasa like a brother to her, and Sarabi as a sister. Nala of course wanted to come to say her final goodbyes to Simba. As they approached the site of Mufasa's body, all of them cried. They were all sad that such a strong Lion had met such a cruel fate, and Simba, one of the cutest cubs in the pride, next to Nala, was dealt the same blow. They all payed their respects to Mufasa. Then Nala noticed Simba wasn't in the area. "W-Where's Simba?" Nala inquired.

They all looked around and found no trace of him. "He may have been taken further by the Stampede," Sarabi suggested.

"Let's trace his scent, and we'll find him, so we can pay him our respects to him as well," Sarafina added.

Sarabi nodded. The two pride sisters sniffed the air, and thankfully, Simba's scent was still fresh. They began to follow the trail, feeling that, somewhere further down the gorge, they'd find Simba's body. They both knew that, being how small he was, the Wildebeest could have carried his body a distance. How far they were unsure. Just then, his scent turned to one of the forks in the Gorge. They followed, and came upon a most peculiar sight. His scent was still trailing, but they had found themselves staring a climb. "This can't be, how could Simba's scent be in this direction?" Sarabi pondered.

"What do you mean Queen Sarabi?" Nala asked.

"His scent leads upwards to this climb, but his body is not here. And for Wildebeest this is a dead end. They can't scale a cliff upwards like this one. Their hooves aren't built for such a climb," Sarabi stated.

"Perhaps, I hate to think it, but, maybe some Buzzards found him," Sarafina suggested.

"Maybe, but if it were them, the trail would have ended right before this area. Let's trek farther. Maybe... maybe Scar thought Simba was dead, after seeing him taken into the chaos of the Stampede. Maybe he survived. But, I'm not sure why Simba wouldn't come back," Sarabi stated with a shred of hope.

"Well, if he did survive, maybe his mind was panicked and he lost his sense of direction. Perhaps we should investigate further," Sarafina stated, now hoping as much as her queen that Simba was alright.

As they scaled the cliff face that had Simba's scent, they came upon a slope that led down towards thorns. "The scent leads this way, he could be trapped in those thorns," Sarabi worried.

She soon started to carefully scale down the slope with a bit of a slide. Sarafina picked up Nala and followed suit. As they came to the ledge, they saw some blood. Sarafina took a sniff. She winced, and stated, "Sarabi, my queen. Thankfully, this blood is not Simba's, but... It smells of Hyena."

Sarafina's face turned to one of worry. Sarabi eased her worries as she stated, "I understand that you think the Hyenas may have finished Simba off, but Sarafina... they haven't. Simba's scent trails into the thorn bushes below. I can see some damage to them, made by a cub Simba's size. And one made by a Hyena's size. But that's where the Hyena's ends. Simba's trails off. Simba may yet be alive. We have to find him. He's out there all alone," Sarabi stated.

"But Sarabi, that trails off into the desert. What if we're too late?" Sarafina pointed out.

"We have to try Mommy. He's my friend," Nala argued.

Sarafina took a little bit to think then sighed, "Alright, but we'll have to pick up the pace. Scar is king, and he may worry why we've not come back yet."

"Scar could probably care less if a couple Lionesses and a cub trailed off. As long as he's got the bulk of our Lionesses with him, he'll probably think we returned while he was sleeping. Which we may very well do. We were mourning when we left. He probably thinks we're devistated and taking our time. He doesn't know Simba may yet still be alive,"Sarabi reasoned.

"You do make a good point, my queen," Sarafina said.

Soon, the three found a safe route through the thorns and picked back up on Simba's trail. With the night sky out, at least if they made their way to the desert, the seering heat of the sun would not slow them. They picked up the pace as they cleared the thorns. All Sarabi could hope for, was her son was still alive, still fighting. Hopefully, she could find some answers as to why he did not make his way back to the pride.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Mother's Instinct**

**Chapter 2**

While the scent of Simba remained fresh for the little group of Lionesses, the physical indicators of Simba's trail had long been blown away in the sands at the start of the desert. But Sarabi was determined. She couldn't simply give up because she didn't see his paw prints. Simba was alive, and she would do whatever she could to get him to safety. He was lost, alone, and if he didn't find nourishment the following day, it would surely be his end. Thankfully, for him, if she found him, mother's milk would keep him and Nala going. Even though they had started eating antelope and other prey, their stomachs could only handle so much. The rest came from their mother's milk.

Just as Sarafina was about to suggest they give up pursuit for the night, something caught her attention. "Sarabi, look, over there. Tracks. We've found his trail," Sarafina stated.

With that notion was pointed out to Sarabi, she put on a burst of speed. Sarafina picked up Nala, and took off after her. Sarabi was thankful, she was close. Soon, she would find Simba, and she would get some answers to why he hadn't come back. And she also saw she was in luck. There as an oasis not too far out of sight from where they were, if they needed to, they could seek refuge there til they were fit to return in the morning to their home. Just as Sarabi was about to lessen her pace, she saw him. There he was. Her little boy. And from the looks of things, he had been a bit bruised up, most likely from the stampede and the fall he took into the thorns. "Simba!" She called out.

Simba heard her, but the moment he saw her, he coward down, as if he thought he was in trouble. She soon nuzzled her son and gave him a maternal lick. "Oh Simba. I was so worried. When we heard of what happened in the gorge, we feared the worst," Sarabi said.

Sarafina and Nala were relieved to see Simba alive. Then Sarafina noticed Simba was crying. "Simba, we know it's hard to have lost your father, and you can certainly let your feelings be known, but we need to get you and Nala back to Pride Rock," she said.

"No. I-I can't go back," Simba blurted out.

"Simba. Of course you can. The Pridelands are your home, and I'll be there to take care of you," Sarabi said.

"But, you wouldn't want me back Mommy. I don't deserve to be there," Simba argued.

Sarabi was puzzled. How would she not want him back? She came all this way just to ensure his safety. What was on his mind he would think otherwise? "Simba. What happened. I need you to tell me what you know, and we'll figure it out together," Sarabi insisted.

Simba was silent for a bit, then he said, "I... I killed my dad."

Sarabi was in a state of surprise by this statement. How could a cub have killed a lion 4 times his size. A lion that he loved. "Simba, how would you have been able to kill him. you're just a cub," Sarabi said.

Simba soon explained how he was in the gorge, made a roar, a stampede of wildebeest came into the gorge and Mufasa got him out of harms way, but Mufasa himself fell back into the stampede. But something didn't add up. Scar had said that he had tried to help Mufasa out of the gorge, after he had seen the Simba had been lost to the Stampede, and couldn't reach Mufasa in time. Now here was Simba saying he was clear of the danger, thanks to Mufasa, and somehow, that made Simba Mufasa's killer. She was trying to sort out this new wave of knowledge. Either Scar or Simba was lying about the events. Simba was in a distraught state, and wouldn't make up something like this in such a state. But Scar. He was known for trickery, and, while she wanted to give Scar the benefit of the doubt, she had suspicions about the events, since Scar's emotions seemed a little too out of place for having just lost his brother. She knew Scar and Mufasa hadn't been on the best of terms, but she would have expected Scar to have been a little more emotional than he had put on.

Sarabi had no clear evidence she could think of that could call out false information on Scar's part. That is until Nala asked, "Wait, you said your roar went through the gorge and then Wildebeest started galloping in Simba... but, wouldn't they have run away from the gorge if your roar had scared them?"

Nala made a fine point. She may be a cub, but she had a knack for noticing things where others didn't. Simba sniffed, "Well, um... maybe."

Now it was Sarafina's turn. "That means something else steered them towards the gorge. You just happened to roar at the time something else startled them. Besides, a cub's roar, even if it was a big one, wouldn't have startled them dear. They'd probably would have found your roar cute," she implied.

Simba chuckled, his spirits lifted a bit by Sarafina's statement. "Simba. It wasn't your fault. No one could have known what was to happen. But, what made you run away dear? I understand your father's death, you felt, was your cause, and it's not, but why did you run?" Sarabi asked.

"I... Uncle Scar told me to run. And some Hyena's chased me after he talked with me. They said if I ever came back they'd kill me," Simba told them.

Sarabi's expression was a mix of shock and anger now. It all made sense to her now. Scar planned the whole incident. She recalled Scar stating that he was taking Simba to see Mufasa. Scar planted Simba in the gorge. And with the Hyenas now in the Pridelands, there was no doubt in her mind that Scar had them in on the plan. Scar murdered his own brother, and tried to murder his nephew. Of course he would pass it off as an accident. Who would challenge him if that were the case? If he had murdered his kin, and the pride had known it, they would have rebelled, and, if Simba had perished, they would have trained one of the other cubs in the Pride to become their new king. But Simba was here, and although he was to young to take the position as king of the Pridelands, Sarabi would take charge til he was ready. Scar's claim to the kingdom was unjust. And for this, he would receive punishment.

But she and Sarafina had to be careful. They couldn't just waltz back to Pride Rock and tell Scar to leave. while they could easily take him, there was his new Hyena army that was flooding in. And then there were the cubs that were another matter. Scar could use them as bate. And if he saw Simba was alive, he would unleash the might of his hyenas to kill Simba, and probably all the other cubs as punishment for Sarabi's betrayal of the false king. And there was Zira to think about. While she had been claimed as Scar's mate, she was no weakling, and she of course was not on the best of terms with Sarabi. If she saw Simba as a threat to her ascendance to her false Queenhood, she would not hesitate to kill Simba if Sarabi approached the situation the wrong way. Zira had also been in love with Mufasa, but was sore at Sarabi when Mufasa chose her over Zira. But she was also reasonable as well. She never made a move to try and kill Simba before, for being the son of Sarabi. Before all this, Zira had actually seemed to come to terms with the past, and treated Simba as she would any other cub in the pride. But with the recent development, she may have seen he position as a form of payback to Sarabi. But Sarabi had to give her the benefit of the doubt, and hope she could at least see reason. She wasn't part of the plot. When she heard the news, Sarabi had seen that Zira was as grieved as she was at Mufasa's passing and Simba's supposed one, so there was no way she had known of Scar's plan.

"Let's head to the Oasis for the night. We'll get rested there, and be sheltered from the desert heat. When the Sun sets tomorrow, we'll head back," Sarabi said.

"But, wait. You're taking me back after what happened mommy?" Simba asked.

"Yes Simba. You're not your father's killer. You may have bared witness to his passing, but you did not kill him honey," Sarabi assured him.

"But if it's not me. Who killed him?" Simba inquired, seeing that his mom didn't simply state it was an accident.

"It was you're Uncle," Sarabi bluntly stated.

"Sarabi, that's a very serious accusation," Sarafina stated.

"I know. But let's get to the shelter of that oasis, and I'll explain while the cubs have a late dinner," Sarabi answered.

Sarafina nodded her head in agreement and soon they picked Simba and Nala up and carried them to the oasis. Once they were deep enough the sun's rays wouldn't make the heat unbearable tomorrow, they set the two cubs down near their teats to nurse. As the little ones nursed, Sarabi told Sarafina everything in detail, and her plan of attack, so as not to endanger the Simba, Nala, and the rest of the cubs, and to dethrone the false King, and send the Hyena's running. And Sarafina had no argument.

When morning came, Sarabi started to give Simba a bath. He didn't mind this time, cause, one, he felt sore from getting a few bruises in the Stampede, and during his tumble into the thorns. Plus, it was kind of hard to walk around with all those thorns in his skin, and his adrenaline now gone from yesterday's escape of the Hyenas. Sarafina went to hunt for some food, so they'd have stamina for the journey home, and Sarabi agreed to watch Nala while Simba and her played. As she was keeping an eye on them, she heard, "JEEZ IT'S LIONS! Run Pumba! MOVE It!"

Her attention came upon a very peculiar site. A Meerkat riding a Warthog. "Um, Timon. They're too fast. We're done for," Pumba squealed.

Sarabi just laid there and chuckled, as Simba and Nala also took notice of the peculiar site. "Relax you two. One, we don't eat Warthog. Last time our pride did, we had gas like you wouldn't believe," Sarabi explained.

Simba and Nala laughed at the memory. "And don't worry, um, Timon, was it?" Sarafina arrived on the seen with her kill, and continued, "Meerkats are too small to make a hearty meal. That, and the taste of dirt isn't pleasant. So don't worry, you're safe in our presence."

Timon and Pumba breathed a sigh of relief, and even though Sarabi and Sarafina dug into some other game, Timon and Pumba entertained their cubs with "Hakuna Matata", though Sarabi and Sarafina would probably advise against their cubs following such a motto. As they waited for sunset, and the cubs were distracted by the Warthog and Meerkat, Sarabi and Sarafina went over their plan to dethrone Scar, and hopefully ensure Zira's cooperation, and the ousting of the Hyenas.


End file.
